Outer East: Brendan Donovan will return to Woori Yallock as senior coach
Outer East power Woori Yallock has locked away a premiership coach as its next leader in an exciting get for the club. Here’s what we know.
Southern
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Excitement radiates from Brendan Donovan when he speaks about his new role.
The premiership coach from Olinda Ferny Creek will return to Woori Yallock, where he spent his playing days, to replace the outgoing Jack Cole as senior coach.
Donovan spent seven years in the Bloods’ top job, overseeing an early flag before a string of development-driven seasons.
The Tigers have an expectation of going deep into September and it’s that element that thrills him the most.
“There’s always expectation at Woori, that’s probably the bit that excites me the most,” he said.
“You always have to have some sort of ego as a coach, it’s a balance between having the confidence as a coach compared to just thinking you know everything.
“I have a lot of people I trust at Woori, I certainly know the support is there.
“I know it’s going to be exciting to go back to my home club and be at the forefront of a new era at the club – there’s women’s football, re-establishment of the netball.”
While a Donovan-led Tigers outfit may play a little differently to a Cole-led one, Donovan isn’t looking to throw out a proven mix.
“It will probably be much of the same with little twists on how they defend and certainly open up the fun bit of footy with how they attack,” he said.
“Jack’s a really, really, good coach – he is one of the best game day coaches I have come up against, so a lot of the time you go back and look at coaches that have taken over from successful eras.
“You have to tap into what’s existing and what compliments the group, I think the club is optimistic that we’ll have a strong list next year, it’s making that personnel mix with the game plan.
“We will certainly work on that assertive defense, intercept game and let the flair flourish in the forward line.”
The Tigers are tipped to bolster their list heavily with some strong recruits.
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